Morecambe 3 Brackley Town 0: Home comforts for Shrimps
The Shrimps returned to winning ways with a comfortable victory over struggling Brackley Town.
Adam Lakeland's side bounced back from their disappointing midweek defeat to Southport to seal their third win in four games and their third successive victory at the Halo Aerospace Stadium.
Lakeland made two changes to the side that started at Southport with Paul Lewis and Teddy Collis returning in place of Lewis Leigh and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, and they always looked the stronger side against a team who were also relegated from the National League last season.
New signing Alex Cherera was named among the substitutes.
Brackley actually started the game brightly with Ewan Williams firing wide after a swift break from Tahvon Campbell before Morecambe hit back moments later with a Jake Cain effort that rattled the crossbar.
From there chances were hard to come by with both defences on top with Brackley showing little ambition.
Morecambe winger Elliot Newby headed a Teddy Collis cross into the arms of Harrison Rhone and the Brackley keeper saved routinely from a Joe Garner header.
The home side’s pressure deservedly paid off in first-half injury time when Newby scored for the third game running with a fine left-foot finish from the edge of the area to beat Rhone.
The Shrimps continued where they left off and doubled their lead two minutes after the break when Josh Tomlinson was unfortunate to turn a Will Smith cross into his own goal.
Skipper Smith then got in on the act himself with his first goal of the season on 53 minutes when he volleyed home Cain's perfectly placed free-kick at the far post to put the Shrimps three goals ahead.
Brackley tried to get back into the game with Charlie Cooper sending two free-kicks over the bar and bending a late effort wide but the Shrimps held on for another win and another clean sheet.
Morecambe: Boney, Smith (Coxe 75), Hogan, Baines, Williams, Lewis (Leigh 66), Cain (Curley 75), Newby, Daly, Collis (Buckley-Ricketts 75), Garner (Cherera 86). Subs not used: Scales, Blois.
Brackley Town: Rhone, Coates, Fogarty, Morris (Roberts 70), Harmon, Cooper, Williams, Yearn (Pennant 70), Tomlinson, Campbell, Sturridge (Lissimore 60). Subs not used: Worby, Ellis, Edwards, Armitage.
Referee: M Langdon.
Attendance: 2,064.
Star man: Elliot Newby.